Ferrum College 20, Southern Virginia 7: Notes and Quotes

Sep 19, 2012

Written by Sean Dahlin and Chris Pendleton

CAUSING TURNOVERS

The Southern Virginia defense forced three Ferrum fumbles−tying for the second-most single-game forced fumbles in program history−and recovered all three loose balls. Junior defensive back Jake Palmer (Alpine, Utah) also picked off opposing quarterback Tim Reynolds twice during the second quarter giving the Knights' defense five forced turnovers for the game.

WELCOME ADDITION

After playing receiver for Southern Virginia as a freshman last season, Matt Gregory (Staunton, Va.) converted to defensive back this fall and led the Knights with 15 total tackles—11 solo and 4 assists—at Ferrum. Gregory is averaging 10.0 tackles per game in three contests this seasons leading all Southern Virginia defensive players.

HERNDON BLOCK

With 24 seconds left in the first half, defensive lineman Luke Herndon (Mechanicsville, Va.) blocked Ferrum's 42-yard field goal attempt recording his second and the team's fourth blocked field goal of the season.

Senior wide receiver Cameron Williams (Sacramento, Calif.) led the team with 5 receptions for 83 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown catch for the team's only score. To complement Williams' performance, team captain Jeff Waldron (Costa Mesa, Calif.) added 52 yards in the air on 4 receptions, including a 22-yard catch to convert on a third-down play in the second quarter.

CONSISTENCY FROM WASHINGTON

With his team-high 65 rushing yards on 11 carries last Saturday, including the longest run of the game with a 30-yard jaunt at the start of the second quarter, running back Jerry Washington (Gloucester, Va.) finished near his season average of 67.3 rushing yards-per-game.

Southern Virginia Head Coach DeLane Fitzgerald

General thoughts on the game:

"I felt like our team played hard, especially on the defensive side of the ball with the mentality to bend but not break; however, we didn't execute well enough in all phases to win the game."

On the offense's struggles to score:

"The offensive line is one of the keys of our offense's success to scoring points. As they continue to gain more experience and execute their blocks in giving our running backs holes to run through and our quarterbacks time to throw the ball, the more effectively we'll move the ball on our opponents."

On the special teams play:

"We came up short in the kicking and punting game in not being able to pin our opponent deeper into their own territory."

Southern Virginia Defensive Back Matt Gregory

General thoughts:

"Our defense played well in the first half in executing our game plan, but during the second half we made some mistakes which resulted in Ferrum scoring when they shouldn't have."

On his performance:

"Although I had a good game, I still need to improve upon aspects of the game that I failed to execute on Saturday."

Southern Virginia Defensive Lineman Luke Herndon

General thoughts:

"We had some good camaraderie on both sides of the ball, but we lacked the leadership at the end of the game to pull out the victory. That is something we'll look to fix the rest of the season."

On the blocked field goal:

"Dylan [Hall] and I have been working hard in practice to create mismatches on field goal attempts for one of us to get through our opponent's line and get a hand up. It just so happened that it worked out to where I penetrated the offensive line and got a hand on the kick."